The South Korean government has approved the emergency use of anti-COVID-19 pill Lagevrio, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Wednesday. The medicine, co-developed by US pharmaceutical company MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, is the second anti-coronavirus pill to be authorized by the country’s health officials, following the approval of Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid in December. Amid the surging number of COVID-19 cases, the ministry said the approval decision was ma

Foreign Ministry may regain trade; Unification Ministry predicted to reduce roles

North Korea is cooperating with cybercriminals around the world, including those from Russia, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, amid heightened cybersecurity concerns around the world due to Russia’s war with Ukraine. 　 “All I can say, generally, is that North Korea’s cyber capabilities have been manifest in the world and they work with all kinds of cybercriminals around the world, including Russian cybercriminals,” Sullivan told the press briefing on Tue

Some self-employed merchants shun test to continue working, while others are tempted to get omicron to ‘escape from work’

Political parties prepare nominations as key events lie ahead to affect voter sentiment

A woman who killed her husband’s dog after blaming it for premature birth of her child was sentenced to a 3 million won ($2,470) fine on violation of the Animal Protection Act at a district court on Wednesday. The accused, whose identity has been withheld by authorities, had been under trial for throwing her husband’s poodle out the window of their 11th floor apartment in Ulsan, last March.  After the premature birth of her child, she suggested to her husband that they should

The Seoul city government announced Wednesday it plans to offer subsidies for public transportation costs of young citizens regardless of income level starting next month as part of its new youth support scheme. According to the city's new comprehensive youth support plan announced by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the government plans to offer up to 100,000 won ($82) won in annual transportation subsidies for those aged between 19 and 24, while providing up to 400,000 won for moving expenses for those aged

South Korea's efforts to secure and bring home a Marine draftee who is currently in Poland without overseas travel permission have stalled due to his refusal to return, a Seoul official said Wednesday. South Korean Embassy personnel are waiting to contact the Marine outside a checkpoint in a Polish border region to which the man was taken after he was denied access to Ukraine on Tuesday. He is reportedly refusing to come out of the checkpoint for an unspecified reason. Embassy officials are not

More than half of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 44 percent support the idea, a poll showed Wednesday. According to the poll of 500 adults, conducted by pollster Realmeter on Tuesday, 53.7 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae, and 44.6 percent said they back the relocation plan. On Sunday, Yoon announced his decision to move the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to

Any decision on upcoming military exercises between South Korea and the United States will be made by Washington and the current Cheong Wa Dae, a spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday. Kim Eun-hye made the remark when asked by a reporter whether Yoon and his transition team have expressed their views on the combined exercise reportedly planned for next month. "The current commander-in-chief is President Moon Jae-in," she said during a press briefing. "I und

The South Korean government is seeking to reveal historic records on inter-Korean talks that have been kept secret for half a century, an informed source said Wednesday, a move that could offer a chance for the public to get a better glimpse into some watersheds in tumultuous ties between the two Koreas. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Unification set up a guideline to establish a legal basis on disclosing the documents on past inter-Korean talks, and it is currently conducting an internal re

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will speak by phone with Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday and discuss ways to deepen bilateral ties, Yoon's spokesperson said Wednesday. Phuc will be the sixth foreign leader to speak with Yoon since his election, after U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Vietnam is a friendly nation to us and ha

Founded in 1973 by Edward Ben Adams, Seoul International School is one of Korea’s oldest international schools. Adams was born in Daegu in 1938, to a missionary family who devoted themselves to education in Korea. As Seoul International School prepares for its 50th anniversary next year, the school hopes to continue its tradition of inspiring students, and upholding its core values for the years to come, says the school’s current head of school, Michael Colaianni. In an interview pre

South Korea has identified the remains of three more troops killed in the 1950-53 Korean War following their excavation from former battle sites years ago, the defense ministry said Wednesday. Using an advanced DNA analysis method, the ministry's excavation team recently identified the remains of Hong In-seop, Park Gi-seong and Kim Jae-gyu, which were recovered in 2009, 2015 and 2017, respectively. During the conflict, Hong and Park held the ranks equivalent to the current corporal, while Kim he

South Korea's new COVID-19 cases spiked to near 500,000 on Wednesday, adding to concerns that infections continue to spike again as the accumulated caseload surpassed 10 million. The country had reported 490,881 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight, raising the total caseload to 10,427,247, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Wednesday's tally is the second-highest, after 621,205 new cases reported last Thursday. The total caseload breached the grim milestone of the